IPL 2019: Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma talks about maturity in Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah

The Mumbai Indians won their encounter against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League 2019 after a tense finish in the last over, by 6 runs. Three-time champions Mumbai Indians were coming off a stinging defeat at the hands of Delhi Capitals in Mumbai on March 24 and exacted their revenge on RCB, who lost their second straight match in the league, this time at home.

Though the match was not short of controversy, thanks to the umpire missing a crucial no-ball from Lasith Malinga on the last ball of the innings, when RCB needed 7 runs to win it; the entire match proved to be one of the best showings by the MI team. Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga bowled nicely in the death overs; while Hardik Pandya clobbered RCB bowlers in the death to take the total over 180.

Rohit Sharma praises Hardik and Bumrah

Hardik Pandya scored 32* in 14 balls and Bumrah picked 3/20 in 4 overs, on a pitch where other bowlers would have been happy with an economy of 8 runs per over. His amazing penultimate over helped Malinga defend a decent total in the last over, which he did despite getting hit for a six off the first ball by Shivam Dube.

“I think Bumrah is more than mature now. Yes, his performance keeps growing every day. He is a very dedicated individual and takes his game very seriously. He is quite regular with his work ethics. Bumrah is very smart. We know the class of Virat and AB (De Villiers) and hence we wanted to break the partnership when they were going strong. It (De Villiers) was a crucial wicket at that point of time of the game,” Rohit was all praise for the talented fast bowler in the press conference after the match.

He lavished praise on Hardik Pandya as well, as he said that Pandya’s innings helped MI put up a stiffer target, given that he had failed to do good against Delhi Capitals. “…obviously there was a hunger out there to go and do well. He came out and got those crucial runs in the end. He also bowled well in the middle even though he went for a few runs. It was a much-improved performance from last game. He is also stepping up that ladder,” Rohit further said.

The Mumbai skipper termed Hardik a crucial member of the Mumbai team and that he needed some time to get into the groove, given that he hadn’t played many matches since coming back from the injury he suffered before the Australia series at home.

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